In <31b87751.1650064 at news.dknet.dk> dmccrae at pip.dknet.dk (Dean McCrae)
writes:
>>>I have just planted honey melons (Sugar Baby) and water melons in my
garden. The
>plants are lying on the ground, but I have never tried this before, so
I am not
>sure if that is the right thing to do. Can anyone help me with this??
>>Also, if the melon plants go on the ground, what about the actual
melons. Can
>they just lie on the soil without rotting or getting damaged?
>>Thanks for helping.
Melons can grow on the ground just fine. What is needed is a loose
sandy loam. I had lots of problems with melons due to "terapin" turtles
feeding on them. But a short chicken wire fence takes care of turtles
coming for lunch.
In heavy clay soils I have to prepare the ground in advance by adding a
lot of mulch. My problem is that most bees have been wiped-out as
result of fighting the jap beetle infestations with sevin (carbaryl). I
do OK by hand polinating.